Bowl system a racket costing tax-payers millions?
Decide for yourself when you look at the facts divulged by Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Here’s the basic formula for bowl games to guarantee themselves money from tax-payer funded public institutions (and some private institutions):
- Require minimum ticket purchase by each school
- Offer guaranteed pay-out to each school, using guaranteed ticket sales as majority of pay-out
- Any losses resulting from school’s ticket sales below required allotment are transferred to schools, NOT BOWLS!
So schools lose money on everything from low-tier to BCS bowl games, while Bowl committee members and employees enjoy healthy annual paychecks and major perks. And it’s all funded by guaranteed ticket sales purchased by tax-payer funded public universities either directly or indirectly (contribution via conference affiliation).
This is why Congress should be involved in breaking up the BCS Cartel – YOU AND I ARE THE ONE BEING RIPPED OFF IN THE END!
• Ohio State was required to buy 17,500 tickets to the Fiesta Bowl last Jan. 5 but only sold 9,983, leading to a loss of $1 million for the Buckeyes and the Big Ten Conference.
• Minnesota and the Big Ten bought the required 10,500 tickets for the Insight Bowl last year in Arizona. They only sold 1,512, absorbing a loss of $434,340.
• Ball State and the Mid-American Conference bought 8,889 tickets to the GMAC Bowl in Alabama last Jan. 6 but sold only 1,431, absorbing $400,005.
• Oklahoma State and the Big 12 bought 11,000 to the Holiday Bowl last year but couldn’t sell 5,438, absorbing $318,490.
• Utah was required to buy 10,000 to the Poinsettia Bowl in 2007 (tickets at right) but sold only 2,361 and absorbed $267,365.